We all remember losing a tooth or two when we were children. It’s part of growing up, a rite of passage if you like. At one time or another in your youth there will have been the wiggling of a loose tooth, the childish pleasure when it finally came out, putting it under your pillow and waiting for the tooth fairy to leave some money.
For adults, however, tooth loss is a very different, more serious, matter and can cause loss of confidence as well as ruin a lovely smile and make it difficult to chew.
While our permanent teeth are meant to last nearly a whole lifetime, there are often times when tooth extraction is necessary – perhaps one gets damaged so badly it has to be removed, or there is so much decay it means a replacement is needed.
Another cause is from infection. Tooth decay or damage can reach down into the pulp or centre that contains all the nerves and blood vessels. Bacteria can cause an infection and this often needs to be corrected with Root Canal Therapy (RCT). If that fails, or the infection is too severe to be treated with antibiotics, it may be necessary to remove the tooth.
In some cases, where your immune system is compromised, as in the case of serious illness, even the risk of infection in a particular tooth can be reason enough to have it pulled.
Periodontal or gum disease also causes an infection around the tissues and bone of the tooth and, if left untreated, can cause loosening and eventual extraction.
How dentists extract a tooth
Dentists and oral surgeons normally perform tooth extractions. First of all, you will need an injection of local anaesthetic to numb the area around the tooth but if you are having more than one extracted a general anaesthetic or sedation that puts you to sleep may be the order of the day.
If the tooth you are having removed is impacted, then the dentist will cut away part of the gum and bone tissue that covers it. They will then use forceps to grasp the tooth and gently rock it back and forth to loosen it a bit more so that it comes away from the jaw. On occasion, a tooth may be more difficult to extract and will need to be removed in pieces.
When your tooth has finally been extracted, a blood clot will form in the socket. Your dentist packs this with a gauze pad and you bite down on it gently to help stop the bleeding.
Sometimes the dentist will need to put in a few self-dissolving stitches to close the gum over the extraction site. Other times, the blood clot can break loose causing a condition called dry socket – if this happens the dentist will place a sedative dressing over it that will need to stay in place for a few days.
Most tooth extractions are done as a preamble to having dental implants or dentures and our experts at the Same Day Teeth Suite in Nottingham, Leicester and Loughborough will be able to advise and talk you through the whole process.
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